Method of and apparatus for forming sand molds



l (No Model.)r 2 sheetssheet 1.

` METHOD 0F AND APPARATUS POR PORMING 'SAND MLDS. f No. 574,052. Y Patented Dc. 29,'1896.-

I l I I l 'MIJ l HBF l u l.2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

l(NQ Model.)

J. ADAMS.- I METHOD OF AND APPARATUS PQR FORMING SAND MOLDS. No. 574,052..

`Patented Dec. `29, 1896.-

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UNITED STATES "PATENT OFFICE.,

S'llEFI-IEN .IARVIS ADAMS, OF PITTSBIIRG, PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD OF AND APPARATLWJQS FOR FORIVIING SAND MOLDS.

. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 574,052, dated December 29, 1896.

Application ined nach 21,1895. serai No. 542,614.. oto man.)

molds, its ob ject being to provide a method of i and apparatus for the making of molds having mold-faces on both sides thereof each composing part of the walls of a mold-cavity, such, for example, as molds for brake-shoes, in which one face has a convex projection, part of which forms the surface for casting the concave Wearing-face of the brake-shoe, wh ile the other face has a concave depression corresponding to the convex projection and a cavity below the same corresponding to the shape of the shoe to be formed, a series of such molds being placed in contact with each other, as described in application for parent filed by me the 24th day of October, 1892, Se-` rial No. 449,904. Such form of mold well illustrates` the invention, though the invention may be employed in forming other molds having irregular mold-faces on both sides thereof, each composing part of the walls of the moldcavity. Y

To these ends my invention consists, gen erally stated, in compacting the sand in the ask around the pattern to form one mold face and then cutting off the compacted sand to an irregular shape, corresponding to the other mold-face to be formed.

It also consists in com pacting sand within the iiask around the pattern and within-a reservoir above the fia-sk and then cutting off the sand to form the opposite side of an irregular shape, such as by sliding the reservoir across the flask or sand-holder.

It also consists in certain improvementsin the molding apparatus, as will be hereinafter more particularly set forth and claimed'. To enable othersskilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a longitudinal section of amold, illustrating the invention where the mold is compacted in the ordinary way. Fig.. 2 is a like view of a mold, illustrating the invention Where the mold is compacted by an upward movement of the pattern into the sand within the ask and reservoir, as more fully described in application filed by me on the 11th day of May, 1894, Serial No. 510,846. Fig. 3 is a View of theflask and reservoir, illustrating the movement of the reservoir in the cutting off of the sand. Fig. 4 is a View of the reservoir, partly broken away, illustrating the construction thereof. Figs. and 6 illustrate other ways of cutting off' the top surface of the mold to the finished shape desired. Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the finished mold within the flask, which is partly broken away, said ligure also showing the templet above the fiask. Fig. is a combined side viewand longil udinal section illustraliugthe series of molds together. Fig. 9 is a horizon tal cross-section of the same, and Fig. l0 is a view of' a removable guide-piece to be used with the ask.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

My invention is illustrated in connection with molds for casting brake-shoes because that is the form of mold with which it has been employed, and it wellillustrates the inpattern, c the stripping-plate, and d the res-l ervoir.

The flasks employed may be made to correspond in shape to the two faces of the mold, which are to rest against adjacent molds, and may have projections on them, as shown at a2, fitting into depressions a3 in the adjoining iiask, such flasks being shown in Fig. 5, but it is desirable in many cases to employ the ordinary rectangular fiask without such project-ions I find it desirable to employ what I term a ternplet e., which is simplya hollow skeleton frame such as shown in perspective in Fig. 7, corresponding in shape to the flask and formed of the side bars e' and end bars e2, the under face of which templet is fiat or straight, while the upper face has formed on it projections e3, corresponding to the proj ec tions Ct2 of the special flask, the templet having guide-posts c4 thereon to fit over the body of the flask, and the straight fiask and tem plet together forming the sand-holder, and the projections thus formed by means of the templet corresponding with the irregular shape of the upper mold-face to be formed.

Instead of having projections on the templet,it may be formed with depressions therein corresponding to the mold-face to be formed. The templet may also be composed of separate removable guide-pieces, such as shown in Fig. l0, to be secured on the top of the fiask on each side thereof and forming the guiding means for the cutting off of the top surface of the fiask. As the two mold-faces are to fit against each other the lower moldfacef must, of course, be made of the same irregular shape as the upper mold-face g, and in case a special flask (shown in Figs. l and 5) is employed the table Ct has projections a4, (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1,) corresponding to the depressions a3 of the fiask and fitting into the same when the flask is placed upon the table, so closing the flask at those points. In order to form the depressed face of the mold, the stripping-plate c has projections c thereon, corresponding to the depression formed in the mold-face, such projections fitting around the pattern or patterns b, which extend up through the stripping-plate.

Instead of the table having projections CL4, the lower ends of the fiask at the depressions Ct may be closed by the stripping-plate itself, the projections c of which are made wider for this purpose, and in the simple form of molding, as shown in Fig. l, that would be the natural course. lVhere a plain rectan gular flask is employed, the projections c of' the stripping-plate extend up within such flask, forming the depression j" in the lower face within thel rectangular fiask, as shown in Figs. 3 and 9.

The 'reservoir (l corresponds in size to the flask, and rests either directly upon the fiask or upon the templet e, according to the shape of the flask employed, that is, it rests upon the sand-holder, whether that is composed of the flask itself or the flask and templet. The lower edge of the reservoir corresponds to the shape to be given to the upper mold-face g, having in the mold shown the depressions in its edges corresponding to the projections CL2 of the fiask or ci of the templet. There the reservoir is employed as a cutting means, as illustrated more fully in Figs. 3 and 4, one edge of the reservoir is made either square or with the projecting cutting edge, so as to cut off the sand after it has been compacted in the sand-holder and reservoir, such cutting edge being shown at c2; and back of the same I prefer to form the base of the reservoir rounded slightly, so as to form a slicker c3, which will act when drawn over the surface of the mold after it has been cut off by the cutter c2 to smooth .or slick up the surface of the mold and bring it to finished shape.

lVhen forming the mold where the sand is compacted around the stationary pattern, as more fully illustrated in Fig. l, the stripping-plate cis placed around the pattern b and the pattern and stripping-plate placed upon the table, and the fiask CC is placed upon the stripping-plate, the templet e upon the flask, the two together forming the sandholder, and the reservoir CZ is placed upon the templet. The sand is then compacted within the sandholder and reservoir by ram ming or some suitable means, and the operator then slides the reservoir CZ over the templet, so that its cutting edge c2 cuts off the sand to the irregular shape of the base of the reservoir and the upper surface of the templet. The cutting edge ci may be formed a little large, say not a close fit on templet, (a little space left between,) so leaving just sufficient or additional sand for the slicker side of the reservoir c3 to finish the face of the mold. In order to smooth up the surface so cut to irregular shape, he can then slide the reservoir over the surface of the mold one or more times and by means of a slicker c3 bring it to smooth shape, either depending upon the sand on the surface of the mold. some of which may project above the flask to provide the sand for slicking, or upon the sand still within the reservoir, which will provide a surplus for such slicking operations, or, if' he so desires, he can sprinkle fresh sand or pulverulent plumbago or like substance upon the surface of the mold and then smooth up the mold by the slicker, so as to insure a perfectly smooth and finished surface on the com pacted mold. IIe then lifts off the templet and withdraws the pattern through the stripping-plate and lifts the completed mold within the flask from the stripping-plate. It is of course to be understood that if there are any wing-patterns, such as for forming dovetail recesses, which are required in certain forms of brake-shoes, such wing-patterns are carried by the main pattern and are operated so as to be drawn together by mechanism within the pattern before the pat-tern is drawn from the mold.

In case the mold is formed in a flask of irregular shape, such as is shown in Fig. 5, it is of course to be understood that templet e is not employed, the flask itself supporting `the sand-reservoir and its edges giving the bar or runner pattern e7, extending up from the pattern-plate bto the upper surfaces of the sand-holder and being withdrawn with the pattern from the mold, and the runners ICO IIO

leading therefrom to the mold-cavity, such as at e8, may be formed in the under surface of the mold by means of ribs e on the stripping-plate.

Where the mold is formed by the upward movement of a pressing-pattern and stripping-plate, as more particularly described in the said application, Serial No. 510,846, the

apparatus shown in Fig. 2 may be employed, the same flask, templet, and reservoir being employed. The pattern b (shown in this ligure) is used simply as an illustration of any suitable pattern and is what might be termed a collapsible pattern, such as described in my said application, Serial No. 510,846, having the pattern-shell 116, the hinged wings b2, forming the dovetail portions, which wings are hinged `Within the shell h6 near the base thereof and having lugs b3, extending inwardly within a slot b4 in the vertically-moving spreader b5 of the collapsible pattern, said spreader acting when forced upwardly to spread the dovetail portions and when drawn downwardly to collapse or draw in said portions. In such case I employ the flask-plate the upper edge of which corresponds in shape to the lower edge of the flask, while the flask-plate has the depending flange t', within which a stripping-plate u fits, such depending flange forming the reservoir to receive the sand below the flask and around the pattern, and pattern 7i extending up through the stripping-plate, both the pattern and the strippingplate being connected to suitable operative mechanism below the table, so that they may be forced upwardly in the formation of the mold. The flask is placed upon the table, the templet upon the flask, and the reservoir upon the templet. Sand is fed into the flask and reservoir and a top confining-plate le placed upon the reservoir and held securely there, and the pattern and stripping-plate are then forced upwardly to compact the sand within the flask to form the compacted mold. The coniining-plate 7o is then removed and the reservoir d is moved across the templet e, so as to cut off the sand within the reservoir, and, if necessary, the upper surface of the mold is slicked in the manner above described. The pattern is then withdrawn through the stripping-plate and the finished mold removed.

The cutting off of the sand to the irregular shape desired for the uppermold-face can also be accomplished in other ways, such as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6. In Fig. 5 a cuttingwire is employed, as at Z, this wire being simply a flexible wire, having a handle Z at each end, which is drawn between the reservoir and sand-holder and follows the irregular course between the two, so as to cut between the reservoir and sand-holder and to bring the upper surface of the sand mold to the desired shape. In such case the mold is compacted in either. of the ways above described, and before the reservoir is withdrawn the operator takes the wire Z, grasping one end with each `reservoir and sand-holder.

hand, and passes the wire between the end of reservoir and sand-holder, as illustrated in Fig. 5, and draws it along between the two, following the irregular 4course between the This wire cuts a clean course and leaves the mold-surface in practically a finished condition, though, if desired, it may be subsequently slicked by any suitable means.

In Fig. fl I employ a bar to cut off the upper surface ofthe compacted mold, and I may compact the mold with or without the employment of a reservoir, as desired. In the former case the sand is compacted within the reservoir, which is then withdrawn, leaving the compacted sand exten din gabove the sandholder, and the bar is then passed over the sand-holder, being guided in its movement by the top edges of the flask or templet and the upper face of the mold being thus brought to the desired form. In the latter case l rain the mold a little higher than the top surface of the sand-holder, and with the bar fm I cut off the surplus sand to bring the mold-surface to the desired shape. A

There an ordinary rectangular flask is employed and `a projection g ofthe mold-face extends beyond the same, as it might be didicultto entersuch projection between the sides of the flask on each side of the depressions f of the opposite mold-face, I prefer to form the side faces p of the projection g' of the V mold-face tapering inwardly, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 9, so that it may more easily enter into the depressions f. This I accomplish by forming the inner faces r of the projections c3 of the templet c thicker at the top than at the bottom and tapering between the top an d the bottom on the in ner faces thereof, so molding the sides p of the projecting moldface g' tapering, as above described, and when the molds are placed together such tapering sides p ofthe projections will be more easily directed to place. If desired, the corresponding sides s at the ends of the depressions f in the other mold-face may also be made correspondingly tapered. lVhen the molds are formed in the ordinary rectangular flask, it will be seen that as the projection-faces g enter the depressions or seats j", formed for them in the adjoining` flasks, the molds are entirely inclosed by the flask-bodies.

In all cases it willbe seen that the molds are formed by compacting the sand around and above the pattern to form one mold-face and compacting it above the other mold-face and then cutting off the compacted sand to the irregular shape of the other mold-face, such formation of the other or upper irregular mold-face bein made possible because that-- face is straight in one direction, though irregular in the other direction. In this way a finished mold can be produced with irregular faces on both sides, either by the ordinary hand operation or by machine molding, and all the advantages be obtained of the formation in the one flask of a mold having mold- IOO IIO

' faces on both sides thereof, each composing' part of the Walls of a mold-cavity, and the molds can be built up or placed in line with each other, so as to reduce the number of molds to be form ed to about one-half the number usually employed in forming such moldcavities, the cost of the mold therefore being reduced and the molds as formed being properly supported during the pouring of the metal in forming the castings.

Vhat l claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. rlhe herein-described method of forming molds having irregular mold-faces on both sides thereof, each composing part of the walls of the mold-cavity, consisting in compacting the sand in the sand-holder around a pattern to form one mold-face and then cutting off the compacted sand to irregular shape correspending to the other mold-face to be formed, substantially as set forth.

2. The herein-described method of forming molds having irregular mold-faces on both sides thereof, each composing part of the walls of the mold-cavity, consisting in compacting the sand in the sand-holder around a pattern to form one mold-face, and then cutting` off the compacted sand to irregular shape corresponding to the other mold-face to be formed, and then slicking the surface of the mold-face so formed by cutting olf the sand, substantially as set forth.

3. The herein-described method of forming molds having irregular mold-faces on both sides thereof, each composing part of the walls of the mold-cavity, consisting in compacting the sand in a reservoir above the sand, in the sand-holder around a pattern to form one mold-face and then cutting off the compacted sand to irregular shape corresponding to the other mold-face to be formed, substantially as set forth.

4. The herein-described method of forming molds having irregular mold-faces on both sides thereof, each composing part of the walls of the mold-cavity, consisting in compacting the sand in a reservoir above the sand, in the sand-holder around a pattern to form one mold-face and sliding the reservoir across the sand-holder, and thereby cutting off the upper mold-face to irregular shape corresponding to the other mold-face to be formed, substantially as set forth.

5. The herein-described method of forming molds having irregular mold-faces on both sides thereof, each composing part of the walls of the mold, consisting in compacting the sand in the sand-holder around a pattern to form one mold-face and in a templet above the flask, and then cutting off the opposite moldface to irregular shape corresponding to the templet to form the other mold-face of the mold, and removing the templet leaving such mold-face projecting .beyond the ask, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination of a flask, a pattern extending up into the same and a templet fitting on the top edge of the flask, and having its upper edge of irregular shape corresponding to the irregular shape to be given to the upper mold-face, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination of a flask, a pattern eX- tending up into the same, and a templet fitting on the top edge of the flask, and having its upper edge of irregular shape corresponding to the irregular shape to be given to the upper mold-face, and a reservoir having its lower edge corresponding to the templet and resting thereon, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination of a flask, a pattern extending up into the same and a templet fitting' on the top edge of the flask, and having its upper edge of irregular shape corresponding to the irregular shape to be given to the upper mold-face, the inner faces of the projections of the templet being inwardly flaring, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination of a pattern, a sandholder having its upper edge of irregular shape corresponding to the irregular shape to be given to the upper mold-face, and a reservoir iitting on the sand-holder, and having its lower edge corresponding in shape to the sandholder, and having a cutting edge formed along one lower edge of the reservoir, su bstantially as set forth.

10. The combination of a pattern, a sandholder having its upper edge of irregular shape corresponding to the irregular shape to be given to the uppermold-face and a reservoir resting on the sand-holder, and having its lower edge corresponding to the irregular shape thereof, and having a curved slicker formed along the lower edge of the reservoir, substantially as set forth.

1l. The combination of a rectangular fiask, a separate templet placed thereon and having its upper irregular edge corresponding to the shape of one mold-face, a pattern entering the flask and a stripping-plate around the pattern, having a portion thereof entering the rectangular flask and corresponding in shape to the irregularity of the templet, so as to form a mold-face corresponding to that formed by the templet, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said STEPHEN JARVIS ADAMS, have hereunto set my hand.

STEPHEN JARVIS ADAMS.

lVitnesses:

J. M. BossERT, ROBERT C. TOTTEN. 

